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I'm trying to determine a better word to describe a role for an entity that checks for uniqueness between two objects.

For example: if I wanted to check for duplicate records in an excel spreadsheet, is there a single non-compound word to describe the tool which executes that action.

Right now we are going with "DuplicateChecker", but it feels a bit ... unrefined.

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  • The uppercase 'C' in "DuplicateChecker" sure looks unrefined to me. I'd accept almost anything except that ... lowercase, space, hyphen, ,,,
    – Ross Murray
    Jan 30, 2018 at 21:13
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    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because choosing names for things is specifically off-topic according to our help center.
    – tchrist ♦
    Jan 30, 2018 at 21:50
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    @Ealianis Because our Help Center says that questions regarding “Naming, including naming programming variables/classes” are off-topic. You didn’t like DuplicateChecker so asked for a better name. This is a programming question.
    – tchrist ♦
    Jan 30, 2018 at 21:56
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    @Ealianis Humility is a virtue, so I'll reopen it for you. Can't speak for the broader community, though, who may see things differently here.
    – tchrist ♦
    Jan 30, 2018 at 22:09
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    @tchrist You are an admin for a reason, I trust your judgment, I just wanted to voice my perspective on the issue at hand (the validity of my post). Thank you for being kind, I will close it in two days if no answer is found. It doesn't appear that there is a word that fits within the constraints I've set. For context: there is a standard in which we are to utilize nouns, e.g. Auditor, Manager, Logger, Enforcer, etc.. That is my argument for it not being a programming question. Again, thank you for your help.
    – user23426
    Jan 30, 2018 at 22:25

2 Answers 2

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How about "comparator"? It's used a lot more often in electronics than every day life, but I've heard it make it's way into other discussions now and that's what it means.

com·par·a·tor kəmˈperədər/ noun noun: comparator; plural noun: comparators

a device for comparing a measurable property or thing with a reference or standard.
    an electronic circuit for comparing two electrical signals.
    something used as a standard for comparison.
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  • Another similar term is "differentiator".
    – Hot Licks
    Jan 30, 2018 at 23:18
  • You need to cite what source that definition comes from.
    – Laurel ♦
    Jan 31, 2018 at 3:16
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I admit this is jargony, but I have encountered dedupe in two unrelated settings as a verb for the process of removing duplicates.

It turns out it has at least two online dictionary definitions

So "deduper" would not be wrong, even though it looks ... unrefined.

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  • A deduplicator/deduper removes duplicates, but OP is asking for something that finds duplicates.
    – Mark Beadles
    Jan 30, 2018 at 22:14

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